Charity of the month kicks off - starting with LFA DMV!

I attended a fabulous Lupus Summit this past weekend, hosted by the D.C. Maryland Virginia chapter of the LFA - and it was chock full of great speakers and great attendees. I had the opportunity to set up shop with my books and my bags, and it was such a nice venue to talk about lupus with people who truly understand.

Interestingly, it's not that there's a ton of "support group talk" going on - it's actually more a sense of belonging that you feel just being there. All at once, you're surrounded by people who look and act just like you - normal, interesting, intelligent folks who just happen to have a chronic, debilitating illness.

It reminds me of a selection in my book, where I talk about the sense of belonging I got from attending a support group meeting. I remarked as how the best part of my support group was the people, and the fact that we didn't sit around talking about how sick we were. Rather, we talked about our hobbies, interests, and even routine, everyday stuff, like work, home life, kids, and grandkids first. And then after that, we caught up on lupus stuff. That sense of an active, well-rounded community made me feel as though we were "normal, accomplished people first, and lupus patients second", (Chapter 5: Communicate Wisely.) And that's just the way I want to think of myself when it comes to lupus.

In fact, I realized not too long ago that same spirit carries over into the motivation to produce the pillbags. I wanted to feel like a stylish hip chick first, and a medicine-dependent patient second. If it's possible to achieve, why not make it happen? And why not give other people the opportunity to feel fun and fashionable, too?

So in honor of the positive impact my LFA chapter support group has had on my life with lupus, for the entire month of June, 5% of the sale of every pillbag will go directly to the D.C. Maryland Virginia Chapter of the LFA. So all of you locals out there, now's the time to buy a bag and support the cause...for your very own chapter!

Note that this kicks off our Charity of the Month club - where every month, a specific lupus charity will be designated to receive the charitable donations from the sale of pillbags during that month. Think your lupus charity (or chapter) should take part? Email me at pillbags@gmail.com. I'll look forward to it!

Comments

Hey I know this is coming a little late, but I really wanted to share this really great infographic that I found on lupus awareness month. It has some really great information on the best organizations for this chronic autoimmune disease. I think it is time to get in the loop!

Hello, I just wanted to say thanks for keeping up such a great resource here. I really appreciate all the information that you have provided on lupus and other autoimmune conditions. I also wanted to thank Steve for sharing that really great infographic on lupus! With that in mind, I have another infographic on lupus that I was hoping to share with you guys too. This one is titled Lupus: a Closer Look at this Autoimmune Condition. I hope you get a chance to check it out.

I just wanted to say thank you for sharing this really great infographic! I know that this is an autoimmune disease which may be misunderstood by some people, but an infographic like this could really help with that.

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Sara Gorman was diagnosed with systemic lupus at the age of 26. Determined not to let lupus rewrite her plans for the future, she fought to maintain her demanding work schedule, busy social life, and invincible attitude. But after four years of running her body into the ground, she realized she was fighting life, not living it. Committed to working with the disease rather than against it, she made it her top priority to start living well, despite lupus.
Her book, "Despite Lupus: How to Live Well with a Chronic Illness", details the steps it took to reach that goal.
In 2012, Sara also launched Sara Gorman’s Pillbags – a line of fun, fashionable pill organizers. The stylish, fabric pillbags can be found at retail stores across the country, on Amazon.com, and on her website at www.pillfold.com.
A native of Indiana and graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Sara resides in Northern Virginia with her husband and two young daughters.